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Næniusk
Begonian is the English name for this conlang. Setting (First draft, not necessarily coherent yet LOL) Næniusk (endonym) is the official language of Begonia, one of 33 countries of a fictional seventh 21st-century continent. Each of these countries is thought to represent now-former classmates. Those people who are in “cliques” are thought to have languages related to each other and form a genealogic family. Which is why Næniusk has the status of an isolate (*forever alone*). Many Begonian words can be considered loanwords from languages of neighboring countries, especially for completely unknown concepts for the Begonian community such as "extrovertism, friend", etc. Begonia itself is situated in the northeast of this continent with subarctic climate, approximately 4,5 to 5 million inhabitants with two major cities and economic centres called Kargana (capital, ~480k people) and Byrnu '''(~550k). The country has been first settled in the late 8th century and was first mentioned some 300 years later as the result of the merging of two minor states called Kargis and Byran (hence the city names) – nowadays there’s a mostly friendly rivalry between those two, especially visible in sport competitions. During the late Medieval age until the 17th century Begonian armed forces fought a violent war against attackers from '''Hattuku, which was eventually won and integrated into the country. Hattukan language stood out by having an elaborate set of ejectives and pharyngealized sounds, which influenced the Begonian language and were for a short time integrated as separate phonemes, but relatively quickly dropped – however voiceless plosives may appear geminate in writing (only ones to do so within the same morpheme) which still points to this. Also many dialects kept pharyngealization and a bunch of other distinctive features in the region of back-then Hattuku. (flag, coat of arms and map to be added soon) Desired Aesthetics Næniusk is aimed to be a fusion of North Germanic Scandinavian languages, Turkish, Basque and some own ideas. Whether that’s reality, I dunno. Phonology Consonants Allophony *Earlier stages of Begonian used phonemic ejectives. This is still visible in modern-day writing, as voiceless plosives can appear geminate in writing within the same morpheme – this however has no effect on pronounciation. The alveolo-palatal ejective was often realized as ç’ or sometimes ɕ’, x’ or χ’, which has retained in some dialects for <ṭṭ> and < kk >. *Plosives and affricates tend to be aspirated if word-initial or in a stressed syllable, preaspirated if following vowels and unaspirated when in the environment of consonants or at the end of a word. There’s a more detailed description regarding aspiration further below. *f and v only appear in loanwords and are usually replaced by /ʋ/, /ð/ and/or /θ/. *An epenthetic ɦ is added between words ending/beginning with vowels. Historic Development Above is the phonemic inventory of Old Begonian: #The palatalized alveolar series has shifted into alveolo-palatal; palatalized r, l and voiceless l were lost on the way. #The retroflex series has moved to post-alveolar; the plosives were lost on the way. #The bilabial fricatives have shifted over labio-dental to dental. #The labio-dental voiced fricative has changed into an approximant. #The coarticulated palatal-velar fricative has changed into a labialized velar fricative and/or voiceless labio-velar approximant. (free variation) #The alveolar trill and flap have merged. Furthermore, the Begonian phoneme inventory also included ejectives and pharyngealized vowels (as result of influence from another language) but they have been dropped off standard language rather quickly, however are still present in many dialects. Vowels Monophthongs Diphthongs Additionally, Begonian employs the following diphthongs: Allophony #/ɨ/ has the allophone ʉ after sounds with a labialized quality. #Nasal consonants cause the preceding vowels to be nasalized. #An unrounded vowel is rounded if it directly precedes a rounded one. And vice versa. #/ɒ/ is in free variation with ɔ. #The slashes indicate there are two main dialectal realizations. Some dialects reduce the diphthongs to its second vowel. #Open-class words can have (phonemic) pitch accent on their first syllable in the root. It’s usually a rising-falling tone and is applied to ca. 5-10% of all words. #/æ/ at the beginning of a word is written as . Unstressed Position Syllable structure ©©CV/VC/CVC©; V ~ any mono- or diphthong, C ~ any consonant (semi-vowels included) Phonotactical restrictions /k/ may not appear in both onset and coda, same for /l/ if in the last syllable. In this case, also the orthographic representation is adapted. Allowed word-initial CCC clusters *Fricative-Plosive-Liquid *Plosive-Fricative-/j, ʋ/ *Fricative-Nasal-/j/ *Plosive-Liquid-/j/ (unless /dl, tl/) Furthermore *Any cluster consisiting of more than one dental/alveolar/post-alveolar/palato-alveolar fricative is forbidden. *All phonemes except for l̥, xw and h can appear word-terminally. Geminates < p, t, k, m, n, r > appear geminate in writing if affix sequence were to produce such forms, all other sounds are represented with one letter in writing, if that happens. (Pro) Nouns Declension Declension of the noun ,khɒ~m̥p’juthəɾ #The declension depends on whether the nucleus of the last syllable in the root is front (then the blue endings apply) or back (then the green endings apply.) If the ending contains only central vowels, no differentiation is made. #Benefactive is becoming increasingly archaic and can be replaced by the dative. #Begonian differentiates between dual and plural (more than 2). -'h(é)'- is the duality marker, while -'þ'- is the plurality marker. #Begonian is an ergative language – meaning that a suffix (here: -'eg') has to be added to signalize that the following verb is (di)transitive. Vowel Harmony If the root of the last syllable in the root contains /a/ or /ɨ/ the choice which of the two sets of endings to use is free. Morphonological rules *RM = monophthong in the root *RD = diphthong in the root *V = encompasses both mono- and diphthongs *AM/AD = mono-/diphthong in an affix *SM/SD = mono-/diphthong in a suffix Possession Words like “my”, “your”, etc. are expressed in suffixes: If possession and case markers combine, possession markers precede the case markers, e.g.: without my two computers: kåmpjuter-et-hé-ned vs. without our (two) computer: kåmpjuter-ét-ned vs. without our (two) two computers: kåmpjuter-ét-hé-ned Stress/Prosodic Features Stress is usually conveyed with a rising, or rising/falling tone, depending on the speaker. #In words with three syllables or fewer, there’s always slight stress on the first syllable. #In words with more than three syllables, the first and fourth syllable are being stressed. #In clusters of affixes, the first syllable is being stressed, independently of where stress is placed in the root of the word: *SW1-SW2-SF1-SF2 would have its stress on the first and third syllable *SW1-SW2-SW3-SW4-SW5-SF1-SF2 on the first, fourth and sixth *SF1-SF2-SW1-SW2-SF1-SF2-SF3 on the first, third and fifth (SW = syllable in the root, SF = syllable in the affix cluster.) Aspiration #Can only fall on /p, t, ȶ, k/ or the correspondent affricates. #First /p, t, ȶ, k/ of a word is preaspirated, unless it is in the onset of a stressed syllable (which is when it it (post)aspirated) or in the coda of the last syllable (which is where there’s no aspiration at all). #If any of the four mentioned sounds appear together with another consonant, aspiration is blocked altogether. #Preaspiration and non-aspiration are always in alternation: < tata > would be thata, < tatata > would be thatahta, < natata > would be nahtata, < natatat > would be nahtatat, < nanatat > would be nanahtat, <''' 'na'tana'ta'tat > would be nahtanathatat, < '''ta'tanta'ta'tata > would be thatantathatahta. Bold signalizes stressed syllables. #Additional < h > changes the aspiration sequence: While < natatat > would be nahtatat, < natahtat > would be natahtat. #Preaspiration can’t fall on syllables with /h/ in the onset. Pronominal Pronouns Possibility 1 #Differentiation between singular and dual only in spelling. #No differentiation between singular and dual. #No differentiation in gender. #"Ád" is used to refer exclusively to syntactic information like statements, questions, etc. Tangible inanimate objects would be referred to with “egis”. Begonian further gives the possibility to differentiate between inclusive and exclusive “we”: Inclusive “we”/vílþa is the standard usage, to express that the speaker himself is not included, add the postposition: “mæsvned”, which in total means as much as “We without me”. Declension of pronominal pronouns: Declension of personal pronouns do not follow the vowel harmony behind the declension of open class words. This also adds a second possibility to express possession: kåmpjuterníd vs. kåmpjuter tuvín (=your computer) Though the second version sounds a bit old-fashioned and isn’t really used by younger speakers. Possibility 2 This becomes relevant in sentences with a simple direct (dative) and/or indirect (accusative) object. In this case pronominal pronouns may be represented as simple affixes put ahead of the affixes of verb conjugation: (Naiddeg) mæsvi kýdžak. (3SG-ERG) 1SG-ACC hear-(3SG.PRES) Naidd-0-eg mæsv-0-i kýdž-ak. = He hears me. means the same as - simply: Kýdžrak. hear-(1SG-ACC)-(3SG.PRES) Kýdž-r(a)-ak. This method can be used for the other cases than Dative/Accusative aswell: Ixavaňairakuivak. buy-(1.DO-PL-BENE)-(3.IO)-PROG-SG-3 ixa-vaň-a-i-rak-iv-a-k = He is buying it for us. Relative pronouns Relative pronouns have to be put at the very ending of a subordinate clause (optionally initiated by the particle ak) and follow the same declension as nouns: '''Jást pek '(ak)' ómi banrakpél éstæn sísk.' DEM man-ABS (PART) DEM-ACC make-(3.ACC.IO)-PST-SG-1 REL-INSTR be.3.SG jást pek-0 (ak) óm-i ban-rak-p-é-l ést-æn sísk. ''= This is the man with whom I’ve made this. Demonstrative pronouns There is no differentiation between whether the object being referred to is close to the speaker or further away. <''Óm'' (ómeg, ómín, …)> can be used to refer to objects from previous sentences or objects that are very far away (comparable to German “jene”). Moreover, it serves as contrast: “I don’t like these (jáþi), but I do like those (ómi).” Numbers Begonian employs a base-8 number system: Nowadays it is usual to employ loanwords for common number terms like million (miljon), billion (miljar) or trillion (biljon). Objects are in singular number with "yt", "ytuň", "ytåt", etc., in dual number with "có", "cúň", "coåt" etc. and in plural number with any other number, including zero (akoén). Definiteness To express indefiniteness add the particle “ápy” (optional): The computer: /kåmpjuter/ A computer: /kåmpjuter ápy/ Ápy is used when one wants to refer to something in general (e.g. as in “I love cats (ápy).”) or in a similar matter the indefinite article is used in English, but not as frequently: The object(s) referred to need to be even “more indefinite”.* *really no idea how to explain that one more appropriately. Word-Formation The core part of the compund comes after the modifier, which comes in different cases: Other combinations like Noun+Adjective or Verb+Adjective are expressed with at least two separate words. Verbs Verbs can begin and end with any phoneme, as long as the phonotactical rules aren’t breached. Basically it’s not possible to tell verbs apart from nouns in isolation. Non-Finite Forms However, there are certain prefixes speakers can employ to signalize that he is using certain non-finite forms: e.g. for ’khʌtaɪ̯ (grow, increase – intrans.), ’ɾizɐn (sit) Again, one has to differentiate two different sets of prefixes that are used depending on whether it’s surrounded by front or back vowels. Conjugation Agglutinative Conjugation Present Indicative Basic verb conjugation in the ''present tense (indicative)'' works as follows: Indicative is used whenever something is likely to happen, happens regularly, or happens at the moment. When two vowels clash, the vowel of the root wins. Present Irrealis Conjugation in the ''irrealis mode – presens'': The irrealis marker is –'š'. This mode is used whenever one wants to express that one hopes/fears for something to happen, or would do something, thinks something is unlikely/impossible, or he’s not entirely sure whether something is to happen, or there’s not sufficient information etc. Which affix to employ depends on whether it is surrounded by front or back vowels. In the dual versions, is pronounced as /x/. Immediate Past Indicative PST.IMMEDIATE is -'p'- in singular and -'þ'- for dual and plural. For this tense, the dual number is unmarked. Remote Past Indicative Irregular verbs ja (= to be) and goelja '''(= to have) have their own conjugation – for presens/indicative: Note that a number of intransitive verbs have '''irregular past stems: The conjugation for these remains the same throughout, even when the past marker -p/þ- becomes redundant. Immediate/Remote Distinction Basically, immediate past is used when the the action referred to has happened not too long before and still has consequences until speaker’s time. However, the definition of “not too long” is relative: One uses the immediate past to express that one thinks something happened not too long ago, so for the sentence: “The last big war happened (only) 1000 years ago.” You would want to use the immediate past, when you think 1000 years is not much time in this case – or another example: “Dinosaurs have gone extinct (only) 65 mil. years ago.” …whereas one uses the remote past to express something happened a long time ago in relation to the context: “Man, it’s been over 50 years since Schalke 04 last won the German championsship.” --> would warrant for the usage of the remote past, even though 50-odd years is by far not as long a time span as 1000 years or 65 million years. To make things more drastic: “I’ve already come home 3 hours ago (instead of, let’s say, 1 hour as expected).” --> would also warrant for the usage of the remote past. Apart from a very few cases, you would never produce an ungrammtical sentence if you wrongly used the other past tense than intended, it’s just you’d express something else. In sentences where more than one actions are being described and one happened before the other, you have to use the remote past for the former action and immediate past for the latter. Immediate Past Irrealis The plural marker for this tense/mood is -'á'-. Remote Past Irrealis Immediate Future 1Note that in these cases, vowel assimilation does not apply. Also the future tense is special in that fusional endings are applied. Distant Future The rule behind the usage of the two future forms is similar to that of the past forms – if something happens soon in relation to the context, use the immediate form, otherwise use the distant form. Periphrastic Conjugation Mæsveg pekui pújemél. 1-ERG man-ACC see-SG-1 mæsv-eg pek-i pújem-é-l = I see the man. means the same as: Mæsveg pekui (ó)pújem ikrak. 1-ERG man-ACC (PRES)-see.INF AUX.(1.ERG-3.ACC.IO) mæsv-eg pek-i (ó)-pújem ik-rak TAM Tense/Aspect/Mood affixes are added to the non-finite part of this conjugation: Mæsveg pekui pópújem ikrak. 1-ERG man-ACC PST-see.INF AUX.(1.ERG-3.ACC.IO) mæsv-eg pek-i pó-pújem ik-rak = I saw the man. Mæsveg pekui stópújem ikrak. 1-ERG man-ACC FUT-see.INF AUX.(1.ERG-3.ACC.IO) mæsv-eg pek-i stó-pújem ik-rak = I will see the man. Mæsveg pekui pújemiv ikrak. 1-ERG man-ACC see.INF-'PROG' AUX.(1.ERG-3.ACC.IO) mæsv-eg pek-i pújem-'iv' ik-rak = I am seeing the man. Note that in PPVA the immediate/remote distinction for future and past is lost. Usage *The periphrastic alternative is preferred in sentences without or only with one subordinate clause, whereas the agglutinative alternative is found more frequently in more complicated sentences. *Periphrastic conjugation cannot be used in intransitive sentences. Negation In order to negate verb, just add /é(n)-/: /rizanél/ --> /érizanél, érizanýr/, ... Imperative Imperative is formed by using the correspondent irrealis forms: Rizanšýr! (Sit (Sg.) down!) – Myllnšvýr! (Throw (Pl.)!) Gerund Gerund ''is formed by adding /-(i)lut-/ to the root of the verb and by adding the same endings as for nouns. /rizanilut kjódza/ ‘ɕɔʊdzɐ (= the sitting boy, Abs.) Aspect Affix sequence Wherever it says "other" the sequence is arbitrary (though usually listed by topic, with the most "important" affix being put as front as possible) Voice Begonian employs an antipassive voice: '''Mæsveg halvadi pujamrakól.' 1-ERG cat-ACC see-(3.ACC.IO)-PRS-IND-SG-1 mæsv-eg halvad-i pujam-rak-0-0-ó-l = I see the cat. or: Mæsveg halvadi pujam iþrak. 1-ERG cat-ACC PRS-see.INF AUX.(1.ERG-3.ACC.IO) mæsv-eg halvad-i 0-pujam iþ-rak = I see the cat. (more on polypersonal verb agreement in chapter 4) becomes: Mæna pujamjól. 1.ABS see-'AP'-PRS-IND-SG-1 mæna pujam-'ja'-0-0-ó-l = I see. (literally) Passive is formed by inserting the antipassive affix -ja- and deleting the patient of the active phrase - though that doesn't always have to happen, the patient can be added in the causative case - and put after the verb. This poses an exception to the otherwise strict SOV order. If no specfic agent needs to be specified it can be left out and the verb of the sentence is in its correspondent non-finite form plus the antipassive marker. There is another marker -épo- which signalizes something happens without the agent's control/volition/intention and works something like a medio-passive marker. Evidentiality Reflexivity To express reflexivity use "vax, vaxeg, vaxín,..." and add it right next to the subject it’s referring to. This at the same time works as the intensifier myself, yourself, etc. Mæsveg vaxi lenumítpél. 1-ERG REFL-ACC be_good-INT-PST-SG-1 mæsv-eg vax-i lenu-mít-p-é-l = I improved myself. Mæsveg vax lenumítpél. 1-ERG INT be_good-INT-PST-SG-1 mæna vax lenu-mít-p-é-l = I did the improving myself. PPVA can express reflexivity itself: Mæsveg pélenumít iksaň. 1-ERG PST-INF-be_good-INT AUX.(1.ERG-1.ACC.IO) mæsv-eg p-é-lenu-mít ik-saň = I improved myself. Participles #"p-é-axtam-ilut" (PST-INF-buy-GER) would denote an object which bought (intrans.) in the past. #Likewise, "st-é-axtam-ilut" (FUT-INF-buy-GER) is something that will buy in the future. #"st-é-ik-axtam-ilut" (FUT-INF-ADJZ-buy-GER) denotes something that is to be bought in the future. Syntax Begonian is a predominantly head-final/left-branching and head-marking language. Basic word order is strictly SOV 'both for main and subordinate clauses. The objects themselves may be freely scrambled though. Case stacking Instead of adding all the endings to each word, one can choose to leave them away and instead stack them in front of or after the verb... an example: '(1) Rizanilut(eg) kjódzog ẋuivi halvadéna urizetned myllnpak. ' ˈɕɔʊ̯.d͡zʊ ˈxʷʉ.ʋaɪ̯ ˈhal.ʋaˌðɛ̃æ̯̃.nɐ ˈɦu.ɾaɪ̯.zɪs.nə ˈmyl̥n.pʰak Sit-GER-ERG boy-ERG snow-ACC cat-ALL admission-(SG-1.POSS)-ABE throw-PST-3SG.IND Rizan-ilut-(eg) kjódz-og ẋuiv-i halvad-éna urize-e-t-ned mylln-p-ak. ''= The sitting boy threw snow at the cat without my admission. The following sentence has the exact same meaning: (2) Rizaniluteg kjódzog ẋuivi halvad urizet '''énaned '''pémyllny i'þrak'. ˈɕɔʊ̯.d͡zʊ ˈxʷʉ.ʋaɪ̯ ˈhal.ʋɐ ˈɦu.ɾaɪ̯.zɪt ˈɦɛ̃æ̯̃.nã.nə ˈpɛ̃æ̯̃.myl̥.ny ˈɦiθ.rɐk Sit-GER-ERG boy-ERG snow-ACC cat-ABS admission-(SG-1.POSS)-ABS ALL-ABE PST-INF-throw AUX.(3SG.ERG.AN-3SG.ACC) Rizan-ilut-eg kjódz-og ẋuiv-i halvad-0 urize-e-t-0 éna-ned p-é-myllny iþ-rak. It is important to keep the right order in the case marking clusters. The following sentence... Rizaniluteg kjódzog ẋuivi halvad urizet '''nedéna' pémyllny iþrak. ˈɕɔʊ̯.d͡zʊ ˈxʷʉ.ʋaɪ̯ ˈhal.ʋɐ ˈɦu.ɾaɪ̯.zɪt ˈne.ðɛ̃æ̯̃.nɐ ˈpɛ̃æ̯̃.myl̥.ny ˈɦiθ.rɐk Sit-GER-ERG boy-ERG snow-ACC cat-ABS admission-(SG-1.POSS)-ABS ABE-ALL PST-INF-throw AUX.(3SG.ERG.AN-3SG.ACC) Rizan-ilut-eg kjódz-og ẋuiv-i halvad-0 urize-e-t-0 ned-éna p-é-myllny iþ-rak. ...would translate to: The sitting boy threw snow at my admission without the cat. To negate a sentence add /é-/ to the verb. To negate special aspects of a sentence add the /é-/ to whichever word you want to negate: Rizanilut(eg) kjódzog ẋuivi halvadéna urizetned é'''myllnpak. (É')rizanilut(eg) 'é'kjódzog ẋuivi halvadéna urizetned émyllnpak. Rizanilut(eg) kjódzog ẋuivi 'é'halvadéna urizetned émyllnpak. Questions To '''form questions', pull the verb to the front and add /há/ right after it: Myllnpak há rizanilut(eg) kjódzog ẋuivi halvadéna urizetned? Myllnpak há ẋuivi halvadéna urizetned rizanilut(eg) kjódzog? (etc.) = Did the sitting boy throw snow at the cat without my admission? Questions are answered either by replying with “'Vjédi'” (Yes) or “'Næg'” (No) Myllnpak hávjédi rizanilut(eg) kjódzog ẋuivi halvadéna urizetæned? Would imply the speakers expects a “yes” as answer. Relative Clauses Relative clauses are initiated using ak '''and closed by ésta'/áti (abstract)' and directly precede the referent. Rizanilut(eg) kjódzog ẋuivi halvadéna '''ak' naiddeg lá sš pak ésti urizetned myllnpak. ˈɕɔʊ̯.d͡zʊ ˈxʷʉ.ʋaɪ̯ ˈhal.ʋaˌðɛ̃æ̯̃.nɐ ak ˈnaɪ̯.də ˈlaʊ̯.ʃpʰak ˈɛæ̯s.ti ˈɦu.ɾaɪ̯.zɪs.nə ˈmyl̥n.pʰak Sit-GER-ERG boy-ERG snow-ACC cat-ALL REL 3SG-ERG need-IRR-PST-SG-3 REL-ACC admission-(SG-1.POSS)-ABE throw-PST-SG-3 Rizan-ilut-(eg) kjódz-og ẋuiv-i halvad-éna ak naidd-eg las-š-p-a-k ést-i urize-e-t-ned mylln-p-a-k = The sitting boy threw snow at the cat without my admission, which he would have needed. However, relative clauses are initiated only by ésta/áti and follow its referent, if there is another clause embedded in that relative clause. Dependent Phrases Similar to relative clauses, dependent phrases are initiated with the particle ak and closed by ek+case suffix: Rizanilut(eg) kjódzog ak naiddeg (ómeg) ád ématšpak ekui dinjak. ˈɕɔʊ̯.d͡zʊ ak ˈnaɪ.də aʊ̯ð ˈɛ̃æ̯̃.maˌʰtʃpɐk ˈeʰ.ki ˈdĩ.ȵɐk Sit-GER-ERG boy-ERG say-3SG, NEG-do-PST-SG-3 CNJ 3SG-ERG 3SG.INAN CNJ-ACC Rizan-ilut-(eg) kjódz-og ak naidd-eg ád é-mat-š-p-a-k ek(u)-i dinja-k = The boy said, that he didn’t do it. Again, if there is another clause embedded, they follow its referent and are only initiated with ek. In the example above, the subordinate phrase is the object of the whole sentence, so you have to add the corresponding ending /-i/ to the subordinate conjunction. If the subordinate phrase is the subject of the sentence, it is only initiated by ek. Furthermore, the subject of the subject phrase has to be repeated in the subsequent phrase: Ek naiddeg ád ématýnpak, ád évoryk. ‘naɪ̯.də ‘aʊð ‘ɛ̃æ̯̃.maˌʰtʏ̃ɵ̯̃n.pɐk aʊ̯ð 'ɛæ̯.ʋʊ,ɾysk CNJ-'ABS' 3SG-ERG 3SG.INAN NEG-do-PST-3SG, 3.ABS.INAN NEG-be_true-3SG Ek-0 naidd-eg ád é-matýn-p-ak, ád é-vory-k. = That (Abs.) he didn’t do it, is not true. Ekoeg naiddeg ád ématýnpak, ád naiddi palltapak. ‘naɪ̯.də ‘aʊð ‘ɛ̃æ̯̃.maˌʰtʏ̃ɵ̯̃n.pɐk aʊ̯ð ˈnaɪ̯.di ˈphaɬ.taˌpʰak CNJ-'ERG' 3SG-ERG 3SG.INAN NEG-do-PST-3SG, 3.ABS.INAN 3-ACC shock-PST-3SG Ek(o)-eg naidd-eg ád é-matýn-p-ak, ád naidd-i pallta-p-ak = That (Erg.) he didn’t do it, shocked her. Participle Constructions ~ including verbal adjectives aren't allowed and have to paraphrased using a relative clause. Conjunctions List of some of the most important subordinate conjunctions: Some conjunctions may also be incorporated into the verb under the category "other suffixes". Subordinate clauses with such verbs are initiated with ák. The isolating alternative is primarily used when there's only one subordinate clause in a sentence, otherwise the incorporating alternative is preferred. Verbal constructions Džon ak køndecéna éṡytivi ekui žapystak. CNJ test-ALL INF-learn CNJ-ACC prepare-SG-3 Džon-0 ak køndec-éna é-ṡytivi ek-i žapyst-a-k. = John prepares to learn for the test. to-clauses are formed by implementing subordinate clauses. This is, unless the subclause only consists of a single non-finite form, where that can be put next to the finite form: Džon éṡytivi žapystak. INF-learn prepare-SG-3 Džon-0 é-ṡytivi žapyst-a-k. = John prepares to learn Topic Marking To stress a certain aspect of the sentence, add the particle ak next to the word in quesion: (1) Ak mja halvadi pjukuipak''' ekui''' pédinja iþsaň. mja ˈhal.ʋaˌði ˈpju.ʰkɨˌpʰak ˈeʰki ˈpʰɛæ̯.ðãɪ̯̃.ȵɐ ˈiθ.sɐ̃ȵ SAME cat-ACC feed-PST-3SG CNJ-ACC PST-INF-say AUX.(3SG AN-1SG) Ak mja halvad-i pjukui-p-ak ek(u)-i p-é--dinja iþ-saň. (= He told me, that he fed the cat.) (2) Ak mja halvadi ak pjukuipak''' ekui''' pédinja iþsaň. SAME cat-ACC TOP feed-PST-3SG CNJ-ACC INF-PST-say AUX.(3SG AN-1SG) (= He told me, that it was the cat that he fed.) (3) Ak mja halvadi pjukuipak ak''' ekui''' pédinja iþsaň. SAME cat-ACC feed-PST-3SG TOP CNJ-ACC INF-PST-say AUX.(3SG AN-1SG) (= He told me, that it was that he fed the cat.) (1) is the unmarked situation. If a certain aspect of the subordinate clause is stressed use the “neutral” conjuncion /ak/ and place ekui after the word which forms the focus. It is also possible to include the topic particle into the affix cluster to stress certain grammatical information: (4) Ak mja halvadi pjukuipaxak''' ekui''' pédinja iþsaň. SAME cat-ACC feed-PST-TOP-3SG CNJ-ACC INF-PST-say AUX.(3SG AN-1SG) (= He told me, that it was that he fed the cat at some point in the past.) Note that the surface representation in this case is < ax >, because /k/ is not allowed in both onset and coda. Correlatives Syntax of W-questions: Begin with the verb, then the pronomen, then Subject-Object. Rizanilut(eg) kjódzog ẋuivi halvadéna urizezæned myllný --> Myllnpak hággui rizaniluteg kjódzog halvadéna urizezæned? (= What did the boy throw... ?) Myllnpak hákbo rizaniluteg kjódzog halvadéna urizezæned? (=When did he do it?) Myllnpak hákoéna ... ? (=Where/To whose direction did he throw it?) Myllnpak hággned ...? (=Without what did he throw it?) Myllnpak hákoeg ...? (=Who threw the snow to the cat w/o my admission?) Further examples: Rizaniluteg kjódzog ak naiddeg ád matšpak '''éstec'i''' édinjak. (= The boy doesn’t say, where (Acc)''' he did it.) Rizaniluteg kjódzog ak naiddeg ád matšpak '''hékvi''' édinjak. (= The boy doesn’t say, '''how (Acc)''' he did it.) Rizaniluteg kjódzog ak naiddeg ád matšpak '''hékoéni''' édinjak. (= The boy doesn’t say, '''in which direction (Acc)' he did (throw) it.) Ambiguities In phrases where '''more than one '''person is being referred to, it is possible to add markers to avoid ambiguities: ''Naiddegap mæsvi palltavyk, naiddegep mæsvi épalltavyk. Jástegap / Jástegoep... = The one person shocks me, the other doesn’t. The former / The latter ... However one can replace “naiddegap” by “jásteg” and “naiddegep” by “ómeg” and have the problem put aside. (1) Džonog þá'''p Meliseg oðkami'ep' ixóppak, hrak ep skænytvøkpak. θaʊ̯p ˈme.laɪ̯.sɪ ˈoð.kãˌmi.ɪp ˈix.ɔʊ̯ˌpʰak hɾak eʰp ˈskæ̃.nyʰtˌʋøx.pɐk [John-ERG and-'DET' Melissa-ERG ticket-ACC-'DET' buy=want-PST-3PL, but DET be_sold out-all-PST-3PL Džon-og(g) þá-p Melis-eg(g)-ap oðkam-i-ep ix-óp-p-ak, hrak ep skænyt-vøk-p-ak. John and Melissa(-'''ap') wanted to buy concert tickets(-'ep'), but they(-'ep') were all sold out.'' -ep signifies in this case, that the subject of the subclause is not identical with the one in the main phrase. Let’s add a second sentence: (2) They instead went to the people in the bar. What is “they” referring to? In Begonian, one can add “-ap” to clearify, that John and Melissa are the subject of the sentence, and “-ep” for the tickets to be the subject. Since there are no separate pronomina for masculine/feminine, these markers come in handy very often. Another example: There is no obligation to use “-ap” and “-ep” for markers, one could use whatever s/he wants, as long as everything remains pragmatical. Switch Reference Also, one has the possibility to add the postposition “nén” to signify, that an object of one part of a sentence is not identical with that of the other “I am working a book, he’s working on a book “nén”: Jálkamaňæde ónókjola kuymne iktarrak, toňix naiddinén hjeména pryhaṭpél. ˈɔʊ̯nɔʊ̯ɕʊˌla ˈkʰỹmnə 'ix.taˌrɐk ˈtʰõɲ̟aɪ̯x̟ ˈnaɪ̯dĩnɛ̃æ̯̃n ˈhjẽmɛ̃æ̯̃nɐ ˈpɾyhaspɛæ̯l [Mathematics-INSTR INF-teach try AUX.(1SG-3SG.AN.DO-3SG.INAN.IO), then 3SG-ACC-'DIFF' home-ALL drive-PST-1SG] Jálkamaň-æde ó-nókjola kuymne ik-tar-rak, toňix naidd-i-nén hjem-éna pryhaṭ-p-eli. = I tried to teach him mathematics, later I drove him (another ‘him’) home. The opposite is also possible with the postposition “mja”: Jálkamaňæde ónókjola kuymne iktarrak, toňix naiddimja hjeména pryhaṭpél. ˈɔʊ̯nɔʊ̯ɕʊˌla ˈkʰỹmnə 'ix.taˌrɐk ˈtʰõɲ̟aɪ̯x̟ ˈnaɪ̯dĩmjɐ ˈhjẽmɛ̃æ̯̃nɐ ˈpɾyhaspɛæ̯l [Mathematics-INSTR INF-teach try AUX.(1SG-3SG.AN.DO-3SG.INAN.IO), then 3SG-ACC-'SAME' home-ALL drive-PST-1SG] = I tried to teach him mathematics, later I drove him (the same ‘him’) home. If the subject of the main and subordinate phrase is identical, one can use /óm, ómeg, .../ in the subordinate phrase aswell: Jálkamaňæde vunókjola kuymne iktarrak, toňix 'ómi hjeména pryhaṭpél.'' Copulae Predicative adjectives can also work like verbs, just add the correspondent verb affixes: Jást yzlor '''épógyaxak. ˈyz.lʊɾ ˈɛæ̯.ʰpɔʊ̯.ʑa,xak DEM-ABS overview-ABS NEG-be_boring-3SG.PRES Jást-0 yzlor-0 é-pógyak-ak = This overview is not boring. (yeah right...) For nouns, the verb “ja” (to be) functions as copula. Pro-Drop Pronouns that aren't necessary to carry across the meaning of a sentence may be dropped: Mæsveg pózhasi évøltrapél. 1-ERG wine-ACC NEG-drink-PST-SG-1 mæsv-eg pózhas-i é-vøltra-p-é-l = I didn’t drink wine. --> Pózhasi évøltrapél. wine-ACC NEG-drink-PST-SG-1 pózhas-i é-vøltra-p-é-l Adjectives There's no affix or anything of the sort to mark a word as an adjective. Adjectives precede the things they describe and don't take any endings unless they work like nouns and form the head of a phrase. Adverbs Adverbs ''are formed by adding the suffix /-es (front), -os (back)/: /mésto/ (fast, adj.) --> /ésmésto/ (fast, adverb). /-ínus/ can be added to the root of the adjective to express ''similarity: /kágillt/ (king) vs. /kágilltínus/ (king-like) /-mán/ can be added to the root of the adjective to transform it into nouns: /vaḍun/ (play) --> /vaḍunmán/ Comparisons /-mít-/ forms the comparative form of adjectives: /kágilltínusmít/ (more king-like) Vaḍunmánog hjamulu ápy mæsthé'ix' éskágilltínusmít myllnýk. ‘hjã.mʏ,lu ‘ɦaʊ.ʰpy ˈmæst,hɛ.ix ‘ɛæ̯s.kaʊ.ʑil̥,tʰɪ̃ə̯̃.nʏs.mɪə̯t ˈmyɬˌnʏ̃ɵ̯k ball-ACC NDEF 1-DUAL-COMP ADV-king-SEMBL-COMP throw-3SG.PRES Vaḍun-mán-og hjamul-u ápy mæst-hé-ix és-kágillt-ínus-mít myllný-k. = The player throws baseballs more king-like than us two. There’s no separate superlative form – in order to express that someone is the best at something one uses the comparative form without comparing anyone: Vaḍunmánog hjamulu ápy éskágilltínusmít myllnýk. = The player throws baseballs the most king-like. = The player throws baseballs very king-like. (is another possible translation) as... as – construction: Vaḍunmánog hjamulu ápy mæsthé'iut' (= Essive) éskágilltínusmít myllnýk. = The player throws baseballs as '''king-like '''as us two. Note that one is using the comparative form here aswell. Modifications Dialectal Realizations Phonology #Alveolo-palatal series shifts into true palatal. This never happens without also backing the velar series a bit, most frequently in the environment of back vowels. #Preaspirated consonants are dropped and instead the preceding vowel is devoiced. #Coda devoicing. #Syncope of unpronounced syllables with ə or ɐ. # is pronounced as nasal) unvoiced, examples: < hr > ɾ̥, < hm > m̥, etc. #Dropping nasals after vowels and just nasalizing those preceding vowels instead. #Pharyngealization between back vowels. #Replacing /h/ with its pharyngeal counterpart ħ when /h/ appears together with another consonant in onset/coda. #Diphthongs lose their second component + compensatory lengthening: Among other also these shifts: Grammar #The dual-affix -h- is pronounced χ. #Polypersonal verb agreement is used much more frequently. Lexicon #næma (standard) vs. tjók (dialectal): house #køṡum (standard) vs. eþóm (dialectal): school Sample text Pók ápy sydvøxak þá étuloin þáp murkoin ápy ésøppym dåmínþvak. Naidþeg chlahi þá tuxruňu míčurvak þá hjórrapaňois vaxþu bynimnoidvak. ˈsyd.ʋœˌxak θaʊ̯ ˈɦɛæ̯.tʏˌlʌ̃n θaʊ̯p ˈmuɾ.kʌ̃ˈn‿aʊ̯ʰpy ˈɦɛæ̯.sœ.ʰpỹm ˈdɒ̃.mɪə̯nˌθʋak || ˈnaɪ̯t̪.θə ˈxla.haɪ̯ θaʊ̯ ˈtʰux.ɾʏ̃ˌȵu ˈmɪə̯.t͡ʃʏɾˌʋak θaʊ̯ ˈɕɔʊ̯.ra.ʰpãˌȵʌs ˈʋax.θʏ ˈbỹ.naɪ̯mˌnʌd.ʋɐk human NDEF be_free=all-SG-3 and dignity-INSTR and-INCL right-INSTR NDEF ADV-equal be_born-PST-PL-3 || 3-PL-ERG knowledge-ACC and reason-ACC be_gifted_at-PL-3 and fraternity-SUBESS REFL-PL-ACC treat=should-PL-3 pók ápy sydd=vøx-a-k þá étul-oin þá-p murk-oin ápy és-øppym dåmín-þ-v-ak || Naid-þ-eg chlah-i þá tuxruň-u míčur-v-ak þá hjórrapaň-ois vax-þ-u bynim=noid-v-ak. = All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.